


Take the Leap, Honey I'll Catch You

by coolpointsetta



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Arcee and Cliff were a couple and you can't tell me otherwise, Bulkhead is a good bro, Cliffjumper deserved better, F/M, Fluff, Minor Character Death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Ratchet is a grandpa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25249267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolpointsetta/pseuds/coolpointsetta
Summary: All Cliffjumper ever wanted was a chance, and Primus be damned if he wasn't going to get it.
Relationships: Arcee/Cliffjumper (Transformers)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 18





	Take the Leap, Honey I'll Catch You

**Author's Note:**

> This has been sitting in my drafts for forever so it's about time I finally posted it. 
> 
> Cliffjumper's death was dramatic and cool and set the tone for the show and everything, but I really wish he'd stayed alive for a little while longer. Even with the two episodes he was alive he was such a great character and such a good friend to Arcee and definitely helped her out with all of her trauma. I just wish they had more screen time together.
> 
> Also, I _just_ figured out that Dwayne fucking Johnson voiced him in the first episode, so that's cool. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!

Cliffjumper smiled to himself as Arcee continued to laugh loudly, the small femme clutching her stomach and bending over she was laughing so hard. 

It was such a rare thing, to see her relaxed like this; relaxed enough to laugh. Cliffjumper didn't see it often so when he did, he relished every second of laughter he got. He would go out of his way just to hear that laughter again, making himself or others - mostly himself - look stupid just to make Arcee laugh or even smile. 

Not just for his benefit, but for hers too. She needed some laughter in her life. 

Cliffjumper knew - it pained his spark that he knew - that Arcee was damaged. She was closed off, secretive, scared of letting people in, all of the above. 

With good reason of course; losing a partner usually does that to people. Cliffjumper knew that Arcee took Tailgate's death as her own fault and no one else's, and he knew how she refused to let anyone tell her otherwise. 

When Cliffjumper had rescued her from Airachnid's lair, she had been in rough shape. He hadn't known her well before that, just an occasional story or greeting at MaccAdam's, but he'd known what she had just witnessed. 

He'd stayed by her side her entire recovery process in the underground medical facilities on Cybertron, before she disappeared one night, reappearing in battle a few days later. They'd been reunited via Starscream on Kaon, and then they'd journeyed to Earth together to join up with Optimus Prime and his team. 

Cliffjumper wasn't sure _when_ he had fallen for her, but he knew he had fallen and he had fallen _hard_. 

Arcee was guarded and occasionally rude, but she was strong and fast and strategic. She barely let people see who she really was, for her own protection. Her laugh was enough to brighten the darkest fires of the Pit and her tender side was something to die for. 

In Cliffjumper's eyes, she was perfect. 

The only problem was Arcee was very good at hiding her feelings. He knew she _liked_ him, but whether that meant 'like as a brother' or 'like as something more' was unclear to him. 

He knew he had better success than anyone else in terms of getting her to a point where she felt comfortable with both herself and the people around her. Arcee would seek him out after a nasty dream or a mission gone sideways, and sometimes they would spend the night together; they always seemed to sleep better with another person beside them. 

But make no mistake, Cliffjumper flirted. It broke his spark more than he cared to admit that she didn't always flirt back, but he flirted anyway. 

"Cliff," Arcee finally stopped laughing enough to speak. "You are such a stupid glitch." 

Cliffjumper chuckled along with her. "I don't know about that, would a 'stupid glitch' be able to get into the Decepticon stronghold by impersonating Makeshift impersonating me? Because if so, then I will gladly be called a stupid glitch." 

Arcee laughed a little harder. "Except that you forgot to check where Makeshift actually _was_ , you piece of scrap."

Cliffjumper chuckled and shrugged. "Minor miscalculation on my part, I apologize." 

Arcee chuckled a little more before he quieted, looking out the Earthly sunset. Cliffjumper followed her gaze, watching as the sky blended with pinks and oranges. From where they were seated on the edge of the plateau, they had a front row seat to the beauty of it all. 

"It's no Cybertronian sunset, but it is beautiful." Arcee said softly after a few moments had passed. 

Cliffjumper smiled and looked back to Arcee, taking a moment to watch the pink reflect off of her plating. "It's almost as beautiful as you."

Normally, when Cliffjumper flirted in a cheesy sort of way like that, Arcee would respond with some sarcastic comment or occasionally flirt back, and then their conversation would usually get interrupted by either a Decepticon trying to shoot at them or Ratchet trying to kill them with his flying wrenches. 

So when Arcee's lips were suddenly pressed against his, Cliffjumper was a little surprised to say the least. 

He didn't kiss back, not at first, giving Arcee the opportunity to pull away and claim she tripped or something. But Arcee didn't pull away; her lips remained firmly planted against Cliffjumper's. 

Cliffjumper had waited for this moment for so long, he couldn't believe it was happening. 

He kissed back, his optics fluttering closed. Arcee made the move to deepen the kiss, her mouth parting slightly and Cliffjumper followed suit. Cliffjumper brought up his servos to rest on the small of Arcee's back, and the femme's servos began to travel over his chassis, pulling at sensitive wiring in a way that made Cliffjumper crazy. 

He felt Arcee beginning to push him on his back, and he felt a pulse of uncertainty move through his spark, before he pushed it down. 

" _Seriously_?!" 

Arcee and Cliffjumper broke apart, Arcee leaping off Cliffjumper as if he had Cybonic Plague, while Cliffjumper slowly pushed himself up. 

He turned his gaze to the other edge of the plateau, where some of their fellow teammates: Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Ratchet were standing. Bulkhead was covering Bumblebee's optics with his servo and the large green mech was looking anywhere but Cliffjumper and Arcee at the moment, while Ratchet looked about ready to jump off of the cliff himself. 

"What is it with you younglings and your inability to keep your servos off each other?" Ratchet grumbled before he turned to bulkhead. "But now Optimus owes me his stash of rust sticks." 

"Wait," Cliffjumper said, the shock of both the kiss and being busted wearing off. "you and the Big O had bets placed on us?" 

Ratchet tilted his helm. "Naturally."

Arcee didn't say anything, but Cliffjumper watched the way her servos clenched and her frame shook in her anger. Cliffjumper tried to reach out to her to calm her down, but Arcee had transformed and sped away before he could even say anything.

"Arcee!" Cliffjumper called after her, but the motorcycle didn't slow down or turn around. Cliffjumper clenched his own servos before he angrily turned to his teammates. "Really guys?!" 

Ratchet rolled his optics. "Would you rather we have caught you or the Decepticons?" 

"Definitely the Decepticons." Cliffjumper grumbled. 

Ratchet scoffed and put an arm around Bumblebee's shoulder. "Whatever. Arcee will return when she feels ready. Let's all get back into base before night falls." 

Cliffjumper muttered something under his breath before he moved to stand up, but he stumbled a little when he saw Bulkhead standing in front of him. 

Bulkhead placed one large servo on Cliffjumper's shoulder, a look in his optics that Bulkhead hadn't seen in quite some time, but he recongized it instantly. "Ya know, Cliff. As the leading professional in waiting eons too long before making a move on a Bot, I'm only gonna tell you this: don't wait." 

Cliffjumper laughed a little, but it was almost forced; his mind was elsewhere. All things considered, he hadn't been waiting _that_ long, especially by Cybertronian standards (the two years they'd been on Earth passed by in the blink of an eye for him), but still, anytime that wasn't spent telling Arcee how he felt was too long. 

"If it's any help, she talks about you a lot," Bulkhead's voice snapped Cliffjumper back to attention. "I think the only people who don't know that Arcee and Cliffjumper love each other are Arcee and Cliffjumper." 

Cliffjumper felt color rising in his face plates and he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks, Bulk." 

Bulkhead patted his shoulder before he lifted his servo. "Now go get the girl." 

Cliffjumper smiled and nodded, walking a few paces forward to go and find Arcee. 

"Oh, and Cliff?" Cliffjumper turned slightly as he heard Bulkhead call out for him. "If you even _think_ about hurting her..." Bulkhead didn't need to finish his sentence, his expression showed he meant business. 

Cliffjumper nodded quickly before he transformed, taking off to go and find Arcee. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Cliffjumper found her a few minutes later, a couple miles away from the base, on the far side of another plateau. She was sitting on the edge, facing away from the last colors of the setting sun, watching as the moon rose higher in the sky and stars started to appear beside it. 

She didn't say anything as Cliffjumper sat down next to her, but she also didn't move away, which Cliffjumper considered to be an absolute win. He sat down beside her, letting them sit in silence for a few minutes, watching the stars form their consolations above him. 

"You know, its times like these I remember why you didn't want to come here in the first place." Cliffjumper joked. 

Arcee didn't take it well, scoffing and letting out a noise akin to a growl before she stood up. 

"Arcee, wait," Cliffjumper didn't try to grab her wrist, but he called out to her nonetheless. 

" _What_ , Cliff?" Arcee said, turning around to glare at the red mech behind her. "What do you want?" 

"Arcee, calm down," Cliffjumper put up his servos but didn't move from his spot. "I just want to talk." 

"Talk or joke?" Arcee asked, and Cliffjumper supposed she had a pretty good point. A lot of the times Cliffjumper would console her with humor and while that usually did the trick, Cliffjumper could tell that was not going to work now. 

"Talk." Cliffjumper said, trying to make his voice as sincere as it could be. He met Arcee's gaze, her angry optics nearly boring holes into his. 

Arcee crossed her arms over her chassis and popped one hip out, but she made no move to run. "About the kiss?" 

Cliffjumper forced himself not to smile. "Yeah, I would like to talk about that." 

Arcee pulled her gaze away, looking out towards the moon again. "Sorry, Cliff. It was an accident, won't happen again." 

Cliffjumper did rise to his pedes then, taking a single step closer to Arcee. "That didn't feel like an accident to me, Arcee." Cliffjumper pointed out, praying that Arcee didn't bolt again during their conversation. Arcee leaving once while they were hanging out was normal and Cliffjumper would follow every time, but if she left twice, that was a message she wanted to be left alone. 

"Well it was." Arcee said, her voice oddly calm. Too calm. "I meant to kiss you on the cheek, I didn't know you were facing me." 

'Bull' Cliffjumper thought to himself bluntly, but he was smart enough not to say it. "Maybe, but then you kept it going." Cliffjumper said softly. "Would we have stopped if Doc and the others hadn't interrupted us?" 

"Yes," Arcee's gaze met Cliffjumper's again. "I would've." 

"I don't believe you," Cliffjumper hadn't remembered moving any closer, but he realized now that he standing above Arcee, their chests almost close enough to touch. Cliffjumper hesitantly reached out and placed both his servos on her arms; not a controlling hold, but a comforting persona. "I think you like me more than you let on, 'Cee." 

Arcee was still meeting his gaze, but it was still cold and guarded. Cliffjumper offered a tender smirk. 

After a moment, Arcee broke their optic contact, before she attempted to pull herself out of Cliffjumper's hold. But Cliffjumper let his servo slip down to her wrist; he wasn't letting go. Not now. 

"Let go off me, Cliff!" Arcee yelled, attempting to pull her wrist away from her partner. Cliffjumper held on. 

"What is so bad about admitting you like me?" Cliffjumper asked, making his voice louder so Arcee could hear it above her own screaming. "What could be so _wrong_ with telling me what you already know? Is it me? Am I such a bad guy?" 

"Let me go, right now!" Arcee demanded. 

"Tell me what's wrong and I will!" 

"It's not you!" Arcee's loud yell silenced them both, Arcee turning fully back to face Cliffjumper. The red mech was taken back by Arcee's loud yell, his optics wide. Arcee took advantage of his silence and continued. 

"It's not you, Cliff it's me." Cliffjumper almost opened his mouth to retort some funny comment, but he thought better of it. "I… _can't_ admit that I love you. Every time I tell I mech I love them, I loose them." 

Cliffjumper pulled Arcee a little closer to him, thankful when she didn't resist. "Arcee, I know how you feel," Arcee tilted her helm and her optics darkened, but Cliffjumper was faster. "I've lost people too, ya know. I know what that's like. And I know what it feels like to loose someone you love." 

Arcee was silent, and Cliffjumper could see the tears beginning to form in her optics. 

"But 'Cee, I'm not going anywhere. We got a war to fight, Cons to bash. I'm not leaving you." Cliffjumper said softly, lifting up his spare servo to touch Arcee's cheek. She pulled away from the contact and Cliffjumper didn't force her. "I promise, Arcee." 

"You know who else said that? _Tailgate_." Arcee spat, her optics more sad than angry now. "He said that the day before…the day before I lost him. He promised he wouldn't leave me, and he _lied_. Promising me, _loving me_ is a curse, Cliff. I couldn't do that to you." 

Arcee turned her helm away, looking down at the stone beneath them. Cliffjumper smiled softly before he reached forward and tucked one servo under her chin, and she looked into his optics. 

Cliffjumper smiled. "Then I won't promise." He said quietly, and Arcee physically relaxed at that statement, letting out a sigh. "I love you, Arcee." 

"I…" Arcee started, but Cliffjumper shushed her. 

"I know, I know." He said as her optics fluttered shut. 

Their lips met in the middle, a simple and tender kiss that was somehow more powerful and more meaningful than their first. Arcee melted into Cliffjumper's arms, her own arms coming up to rest on Cliffjumper's shoulder while Cliffjumper wrapped himself around her. The kiss was chaste and quick, but it was perfect. 

Cliffjumper knew, deep down that even if Arcee had accepted his promise, there was no guarantee he could keep it. Everyday was a blessing, a day he was lucky to have. The future was a scary thing, and he didn't know what his future would hold for him. 

But with Arcee in his arms, he couldn't bring himself to think of the future and what _might_ be, his spark was only focused on what he _knew_. And with the femme of his dreams in his arms, the present was looking pretty good at the moment.


End file.
